Martial Arts Legend Bruce Lee May Have Passed Away From Drinking Too Much Water, Study Claims
Martial arts became immensely popular in the west after the actor and martial artist from Hong Kong displayed his moves on the big screen. Bruce Lee was a phenomenon who contributed to popularizing the fighting technique and discovered the hybrid martial arts technique, Jeet Kune Do.
Researchers speculate on the reasons behind Bruce Lee's death
However, the legend left us too soon.?Bruce Lee died in his sleep in 1973, at the age of 32.?He was diagnosed with cerebral edema earlier in the year. After the autopsy, doctors estimated that Lee died from an allergic reaction to his painkiller because his brain had swollen up to 13% at the time when the doctors found him.
According to a new study, the edema that caused Bruce Lee's death was caused by hyponatremia. The study, which was published by the Clinical Kidney Journal, estimated that Bruce Lee died because his kidneys could not eliminate water. The empirical study is indeed a fresh take on the death of the star, whereas the Internet births conspiracies about an apparent assassination or a lover¡¯s quarrel that led to his being poisoned, and many more bizarre what-ifs.??
What is hyponatremia?
According to researchers, the actor died because of hyponatremia. The condition develops in the body when a person¡¯s body sodium levels get diluted by drinking excessive water. As a result of the imbalance, the cells in one¡¯s body and brain swell.
The scientists in the report state that Bruce Lee had many risk factors for hyponatremia, like his high fluid intake, regularly participating in activities that would increase thirst, such as consuming marijuana, and also behaviours that would impair the ability of his kidneys to excrete fluid, like prescription drugs, alcohol consumption, and more. Thus, excessive water intake became a deterrent to Lee¡¯s life.
The researchers stated in their study, "We hypothesize that Bruce Lee died from a specific form of kidney dysfunction: the inability to excrete enough water to maintain water homeostasis, which is mainly a tubular function."
They went on to elucidate, "This may lead to hyponatremia, cerebral oedema (brain swelling), and death within hours if excess water intake is not matched by water excretion in urine, which is in line with the timeline of Lee's demise."?
The actor was famous for his fluid?diet?to keep in shape. Linda Lee Cadwell, his wife, once revealed that he had been on a "carrot and apple juice" diet. The researchers thus claim that having excessive water was the cause of Lee¡¯s death, "Ironically, Lee made famous the quote 'Be water my?friend', but excess water appears to have ultimately?killed?him."
